SEA-OTTER HUNTING IN THE KURILS 295 
Year. 
1872 . 
. One foreign vessel 
Catch. 
300 
Catch. 
Japanese 0 
1873 . 
. Seven foreign vessels 
1,196 
„ o 
1874 . 
. Twelve ,, 
1,353 
0 
1875 . 
. Seven „ 
1,250 
„ 299 
1876 . 
. Eight „ 
1,150 
„ 78 
1877 . 
. Nine ,, 
1,083 
„ 292 
1878 . 
. Nine ,, 
818 
„ 285 
1879 . 
. Seven ,, 
375 
„ 342 
1880 . 
. Eight ,, 
450 
„ 270 
1881 . 
. Eleven ,, 
350 
„ 211 
A total of 10,102 for the ten years. 
From 1872 to 1878 sea-otter hunting off the 
Kuril Islands by foreign vessels was practically 
confined to the vicinity of Yetorup Island, along its 
south-eastern or Pacific side, and for a short distance 
round each end; and over 8,000 pelts were taken 
from that island alone during those seven years. 
In 1878, otters not being quite so plentiful, I left 
Yetorup in the schooner Otome , to try the islands 
farther north. Otters in fair numbers were met 
with all along the chain right up to Kamchatka. 
Two other schooners, the Cygnet and Alexander, also 
hunted the northern islands, and secured fair catches. 
After this all the other hunting-vessels followed suit, 
and hunted the whole length of the chain. 
During the next ten years (1882 to 1891) about 
656 skins were taken by the foreign schooners, the 
Japanese catch being approximately 545—a total 
of 1,201 for the decade. From 1892 to 1901 about 
800 were captured by Japanese and foreigners, and 
from 1902 to the present year (1909) some 350 have 
been taken. 
From 1879, when one of the otter-hunters first 
made a catch of fur-seals, more and more attention 
was given to sealing, and less to sea-otter hunting, 
